Gill, spinners give India advantage over New Zealand

MUMBAI: Shumban Gill played a defiant 90-run knock before Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja put India ahead by reducing New Zealand to 171/9 on the second day of the third Test here at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

At the Stumps on Day 2, New Zealand were 171/9, leading India by 143 runs. Ajaz Patel, unbeaten on seven, will resume the visitors’ second innings alongside unmarked William O’Rourke on Day 3.

New Zealand, starting their second innings with a 28-run deficit, found themselves in trouble right from the start as Indian spinners ran through their batting unit.

Top-order batter Will Young put on a notable fight against a spin-packed Indian bowling attack on a difficult pitch, which saw 29 wickets falling in just two days.

Young, who walked out to bat at No.3 in the first over after the dismissal of skipper Tom Latham (1), oversaw New Zealand’s batting expedition until the 39th over.

He had an agonizing end to his fighting knock as he spooned a simple catch to Ashwin off his own bowling and walked back in disgust after top-scoring for New Zealand with a valiant 51.

Young was briefly supported by Glenn Phillips (26) and Daryl Mitchell (21), with whom he shared a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Following his dismissal, Patel and Matt Henry shared an important 21-run partnership and pushed the New Zealand’s total before Jadeja got rid of Henry, who made 10.

Jadeja led the way with the ball for India, picking up four wickets, followed by Ashwin, who bagged three, while Akash Deep and Washington Sundar shared two wickets between them.

Earlier in the day, India resumed their first innings from 86/4 through Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.

Despite the momentum in New Zealand’s favour, the pair resurrected India’s innings with a 96-run partnership for the fifth wicket, which lasted with Pant’s dismissal just before the lunch.

The wicketkeeper remained a notable contributor to India’s total with a gutsy half-century, scoring 60 off just 59 deliveries with the help of 10 boundaries including two sixes.

Gill then registered brief partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja (14) and Washington Sundar before falling victim to Ajaz Patel in the second session. He top-scored for India with a sensible 90 -run knock, which featured eight boundaries including a six.

Sundar added valuable runs at the backend, courtesy of his unbeaten cameo.
He left stranded on 38 as Akash Deep’s misjudgment while running between the wickets drew curtains on India’s innings.

Ajaz Patel was the standout bowler for New Zealand, claiming a five-wicket haul, while Henry, Phillips and Ish Sodhi made one scalp each.

For the unversed, New Zealand won the opening Test by eight wickets, recording their first win in India in 36 years before wrapping the series with a commanding 113-run victory in the second Test.

The last time India got clean swept at home was in 2000 when they lost 2-0 to South Africa.